Round Up

by Earle Jay Goodman

Leo Hayes' saga continues from books one and two. 20 year old Leo dedicated himself to building up the stud ranch operation he and Sean planned before Sean died of typhoid fever. He nurtured his family of Sean's two little children by Murielle Anne. Leo went out of his way to get to know Albert Reynolds, the tall cool drink of water who managed the huge cattle ranch up the road. Albert bore emotional scars from a horrendous childhood down in the Mormon Colonies in Mexico. Leo struggled to understand him. He wanted to break through his frigid, unemotional friend's barriers and develop a warm, affectionate friendship. He longed for Albert to share his love...and his bed, only Albert didn't know how to love. Albert slowly shared the story of how renegade Apache Warriors massacred his parents, baby sister and pet dog, right before his eyes, shortly after he turned eleven. Raped, beaten and left for dead, Albert walked down out of the mountains by himself and found work in the horse barns of a huge rancho. The boss resented Albert's height and youthful muscles and beat him regularly over the next few years. Finally, Albert ran away. His aimless wanderings took him to a cattle ranch in the mountains. The Mormons working the ranch invited him to stay and eventually adopted him. A few years later, Poncho Villa's marauding army murdered his adopted mother and brothers then drove all the Mormon colonists out of Mexico. Albert slowly made his way north to Idaho, seeking escape from all the unhappy memories of loved ones lost south of the border. Slowly, Leo came to understand Albert's cool, unwelcoming reticence. Little by little, taking tiny baby steps, Leo finally began breaking through Albert's icy exterior and revealed a beautiful man hidden away deep inside. It took time and a lot of work, but Leo finally shared love in his life, once again.

441 pages, Paperback

Published June 5, 2017

About the author

Born in Murtaugh, Idaho, Earle grew up on the stories of his great-great-grandparents, some of the very first pioneers and settlers of the Intermountain West in the 1850s. A few years ago, Earle felt inspired to tell some of his ancestors' stories. He didn't want to write a history or biography, so he began working on a historically correct fictional gay romance set back in the 1910s - which grew into the 1,562-page Discreet Trilogy.

Earle loves reading a good story and is a sucker for romance novels. His favorite genres often have a regular guy struggling to overcome adversity who somehow manages to find love and success in the end.

Earle lived most of his adult life in Manhattan and the Hamptons before customers took him to Florida in 1997. He has been in a loving relationship with his life partner and business partner, Jimmy, since 1979. They married in 2009 on their thirtieth anniversary. They still live together – enjoying their work and sharing life.

Reviews

[Michael Pilkenton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great trilogy and I hated it to end. I wanted much more of Leo and Albert and the group of people had surrounds himself with. The stories were realistic and interesting and it moved at a brisk pace. Loved it and recommend it to anyone looking for a great book written by a man from a man’s point of view.